enchanted
by ipsa dixit
Summary: i was enchanted to meet you [collection of 28 meet-cute drabbles, featuring alscor, for meet-cute month] [day 8 as separate fic - 'this night is sparkling']
1. blushing the whole way home

_muggle!au_

 _for the meet cute marathon - day one_

 _for insane house comp [got into a car crash while watching cute jogger]_

 _for writing club [showtime - no good deed]_

 _351 words, by google docs_

* * *

 ** _blushing the whole way home_**

* * *

Albus Potter had a _slight_ obsession with Scorpius Malfoy. It wasn't his fault though, really—Scorpius was just _too damn hot_.

And he jogged.

He _jogged_.

Perfect Scorpius Malfoy went on jogs _shirtless_ every morning, just as Albus pulled out of his driveway to go to work. He had a perfect view of Scorpius' _abs_ as he drove out to get to his office every single damn morning—he started his days off right.

So he was watching Scorpius, not paying attention to anything around him.

Which is why another car crashed into the side of his car. That car went _way_ too fast.

The last thing Albus saw before blacking out was Scorpius running over to him, concern on his face.

 _Nice_.

* * *

Albus woke up in a white room with a pounding headache. Scorpius was sitting in the chair beside him.

He was definitely dreaming.

"Oh, you're awake!" Scorpius said, immediately smiling and standing up.

Albus didn't think that he had ever seen him smile. It was a nice smile. Ten out of ten.

"I was really worried," Scorpius continued, gesticulating with his hands. "I think we live in the same apartment building. I'm Scorpius Malfoy." Scorpius stuck out a hand.

"No, I know," Albus said, taking Scorpius' hand. They shook, and Albus made a note at how firm his handshake was.

"You know?" Scorpius asked, withdrawing his hand.

"No," Albus said quickly, feeling a blush crawl over his face. "I mean that I know that we share an apartment building. I think I've seen you around, too. I'm Albus Potter."

Scorpius nodded as if Albus' excuse made sense to him.

"Well, I saw the car crash into you," Scorpius explained. "I was the one who called the ambulance."

No, the blush on Albus' face _wasn't_ going down.

"Thanks," he managed to squeak out.

They both stood there awkwardly for a moment or two before Scorpius waved at him.

"Well, I'd ought to go," he said, pointing to the door.

"Yeah," Albus said, waving. Scorpius gave him another small smile before leaving the room.

Well, at least Albus would see him tomorrow.


	2. the playful conversation starts

_for meet cutes day two - writing pick up lines on the coffee cup_

 _insane house comp [flirty]_

 _writing club [character appreciation - brother; showtime - im not that girl; liza's loves - the flirt]_

 _798, by google docs_

* * *

 _Not going to lie, I love the blond of your hair, but I think it would look better with my fingers pushed through it x._

All Scorpius wanted was a coffee, not a mystery. Who the _hell_ wrote this on his cup? How _dare_ someone hit on him with a terrible pickup line and not even give him a number?

Scanning the baristas, Scorpius only saw two girls, both with red hair. One of them had her hair in a neat bob and the other one had a mass of messiness. He marched over to the one with the bob, who rolled her eyes when she saw him come over.

"Did you write this?" he asked, showing her his cup. Her name tag read _Lily_.

She read the cup and laughed out loud. "No," she said, "but whoever did is a keeper."

Frowning at her, he took his cup back and went to the other female barista, who's name tag read _Rose_. She shook her head at him as her approached.

"Sorry, I'm going on break. Ask someone else," she said before Scorpius opened his mouth.

"Did you write this?" he asked anyway, pushing his coffee cup into Rose's face.

"No, I just make the drinks. I don't do any writing," she said, not even bothering to read it.

Rose left Scorpius fuming over his coffee. He took an angry sip while thinking.

So it was one of the male baristas? Or a customer?

He need to find out who it was of he was going to go insane over this.

* * *

 _You look great and all, but do you know what would look really good on you? Me. Steal me away, mate. ;)_

That was… straightforward.

Scorpius frowned at his latte, then walked over to the redhead with the bob again—Lily.

"Did you see anybody write on my cup?" he asked, pushing in front of a customer.

"Hey, don't cut!" the indigent customer complained.

Scorpius ignored him, instead showing Lily the newest pickup line.

"No," she said, snorting as she read it. "He's right though," she said, nodding to the customer behind him, "Wait your turn."

* * *

 _Hey, I've been wondering: what's your favorite silverware? Because I'd like to spoon._

The _gall_ of this person. They didn't even know each other!

He decided if neither of the girls was writing it, he had to ask the guys. He headed over to the only one on duty, a boy with messy black hair.

"Hello?" Scorpius demanded, heading over to where the guy was. He looked up from the drink he was making and Scorpius was able to read his name tag: James. "Did you write this?"

Scorpius handed him the cup, and James read it, a smirk on his face.

"Nope. I'm smooth, but not that smooth." James handed back the drink and returned to making his drink.

"We, l who else works this shift?" Scorpius asked, feeling his eye start to twitch.

"Lily and Rose," he answered simply.

Brilliant.

* * *

 _Did you order milk with your coffee? If you did, it sure did your body good. If you didn't… damn._

Milk? Why _milk_?

Scorpius did _not_ order milk, thank you very much; he's lactose intolerant. If this is whoever's way of saying that they added unsolicited milk into his coffee, Scorpius didn't want it.

He decided, instead of demanding a new one, he was just going to throw it out. He didn't even have the energy to deal with this person today.

* * *

 _Want to sit on my lap and talk about the first thing that pops up?_

Scorpius was _definitely_ blushing. So this person was a boy, probably. Fine, cool. _Except he asked the only male barista_.

Scorpius definitely was going crazy. It was probably whoever's plan to make him crazy.

"Hey," he said, gripping his cup tightly. He walked over to where James was standing, not really doing anything; it was a slow day. "What other guys work here?"

"I don't know," he said, giving Scorpius a concerned look. "I mean my brother Albus is always here, but he doesn't officially 'work' here."

"Can I meet him?" Scorpius asked, a lightbulb going off in his head. If this 'Albus' was always there, he could _easily_ be writing the notes on his cups.

What a sleaze.

James rolls his eyes and goes into the door behind the counter marked _employees only_. He comes back out with a shorter boy, who looks almost identical to him, but with green eyes, glasses, and freckles.

"Hi, you wanted to see me?" the other boy asked, approaching Scorpius. "I'm Albus."

Scorpius shoots him a glare and gives him his coffee cup.

"Did you write this?" he asked. He doesn't need a response, though; Albus' face lit up immediately as he read the note.

" _Maybe_."


	3. your silhouette makes its way over to me

_meet cutes, day three - librarian being confused by book choices_

 _for amortentia, pearl dust_

 _436 words, by google docs_

* * *

The first time Scorpius comes over to Albus, he almost spits out his coffee, but he manages to swallow it.

"You want what?"

"A book about debates and a book about the cheeses of Australia," Scorpius repeats, cool as a cucumber. He pushes up the hipster-esque glasses he's wearing and looks at Albus expectantly. "You are the librarian, right?"

Albus nods, regaining his stance. He's just supposed to help people, not question their weird book choices.

Except why does he need both books? What do they have in common?

He can't help it, Albus asks. "Okay, sure. But why? Are you having a debate about Australian cheeses."

Scorpius raises an eyebrow and squints at Albus' name tag.

"Well, Albus—hi, I'm Scorpius—I didn't realise that it was in your pay to question my book reading?"

Albus bites his tongue. "Well, it's not, but—"

"So, where are those books?"

Albus sighs. "Follow me."

* * *

Scorpius returns the following week, returning the other books he took out and asking for more.

"Okay," he says, leaning against Albus' desk, "this week I need a book on ancient Roman weapons and different types of exotic fruits."

"You going on some sort of quest?" Albus asks, starting to lead Scorpius to where those books are located—because, amazingly, they do have books on those topics at their library.

Scorpius gives him a wink, grabbing the Roman weapons book from him. "Maybe, maybe."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Albus asks, handing him the book about fruits.

"Nope." Scorpius gives him one last wink before heading to the checkout.

* * *

Scorpius comes back for the third time and this time asks for a book on pickup lines and a cookbook.

"Now these are connected," Albus says, scanning the books into the system and handing them over to him.

"My other books were, too," Scorpius says, looking hurt. Albus raises his eyebrows.

"How?"

"Those are the topics that I'm interested in at any given time."

Albus opens his mouth, no words coming out. "Oh," he says finally. Scorpius smirks.

"So, you're interested in getting a date?" he says, motioning to the two books Scorpius has selected. Scorpius tries to lean forward but has to push up his glasses as the fall down his face.

"Maybe," he says, turning him pushing up his glasses into him fixing his hair.

"Who?" Albus asks. He's curious as to whatever poor person Scorpius is trying to impress with bad pickup lines and cooking.

Scorpius' face goes red for a moment and he takes off and cleans his glasses before staring Albus right into the eye and saying:

"You."


	4. walls of insincerity

_meet cutes, day 4 - screaming at you in a zombie costume_

 _314 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus was sure of two things, and only two things.

One: he was drunk. _Very_ drunk.

Two: there was a zombie walking after him.

Call him crazy, but Albus had a _slight_ fear of zombies, and being intoxicated didn't help his fears. It was _not_ liquid courage.

He knew better than to get a ride home, so he was walking fast. He couldn't help but look back at the zombie every few seconds. He was terrified of it. It had sunken eyes and green skin. None of it went with the shock of white-blond hair on his head, though. Albus had always thought of zombies with dark hair, but blonds were probably a worse, different breed.

Albus wanted to run away, but he knew that if he did, the zombie would just chase after him. All he had to do was to _slowly_ pick up the pace and try to walk faster than the zombie, without it knowing his plan.

Did zombies even walk at the same pace as humans? Because the zombie stalking Albus was walking pretty fast, even by human standards.

Albus walked faster.

"Hey, wait!" the zombie called from behind him. It was _definitely_ calling to Albus, and the strange thing was that it sounded _just_ like a human. Albus started to walk faster, but the zombie had caught up and walked beside him.

Albus couldn't help it; he screamed. The zombie's face was scarier up close.

"I'm not _that_ ugly!" the zombie protested. "I just wanted to give you your ID card," the zombie explained, holding out a card for Albus. "You left it at the bar."

"Zombie," Albus said, feeling slightly nauseated. He felt as if he was about to throw up at any moment.

"Oh, this?" the zombie said, chuckling. "This is makeup, for some stupid party that my friends dragged me to. I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

Albus threw up.


	5. lonely place

_tw for mentions of depression and anxiety_

 _meet cutes day five_

 _363 words, by google docs_

* * *

Scorpius doesn't want to be here, but his parents are forcing him. They think that his depression and anxiety is going to magically get better if he 'talks it out'.

Right, because Scorpius is actually going to talk about the thoughts in his head with random people he doesn't know. Right, because talking to random people, _which gives him anxiety in the first place_ , is going to make everything a-okay.

Sometimes, Scorpius can't stand his parents.

He walks into the room, trying to push his hands further into his jean pockets. They're shaking, and probably sweaty as well. They always get damn sweaty when he's faced with people he doesn't know.

 _What if he makes the wrong first impression? What if they hate him? What if they think he's a complete weirdo? What if they talk about him behind his back, saying that his problems aren't valid, aren't real? What if he's not messed up enough to be in the support group?_

Scorpius takes a deep breath as he walks in and evaluates everyone else there. Everyone seems to be his age, a teenager, except for a few older people, maybe in their late twenties.

Everyone's already sitting down.

 _Shit_ , Scorpius thinks, feeling the blush already begin to rise. _I'm late._

He goes to sit down, _sure_ that everyone's staring about him. He _knew_ that they should've left earlier. Now he's late and everyone is _staring_ at him and _oh my God, they're judging him and hating him._

He takes one of the only empty seats, next to a boy with dark hair and green eyes, around his age. He makes fist in his pocket, trying so stop them from shaking so badly. It's like he has his own personal vibrator.

"Hi," the person says next to him, giving a little wave. "I'm Albus."

Scorpius nods, finding himself incapable of using his vocal chords. This Albus probably thinks he's a huge idiot.

Who would come late?

Scorpius turns away, knowing that Albus' eyes are still on him.

 _(What he doesn't know, though, is that Albus' eyes are on him, trying to memorize the exact angle of Scorpius' jaw._

It's fucking beautiful, _Albus thinks.)_


	6. waiting for superman

… _i broke the enchanted lyric theme…_

 _prompts at the bottom_

 _329 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus Potter hated Scorpius Malfoy because he loved him. Except every time Albus works up the courage to tell Scorpius how he feels, Scorpius has to leave. Usually Albus is called away to his job right after, so it's not like he ever would have time to tell him.

Still, it's extremely frustrating that Scorpius can't just read his mind and reciprocate his feelings.

Maybe, instead of hating Scorpius, Albus actually hates his job. It would interrupt him every time he would tell Scorpius the truth, anyway.

Albus is a superhero sidekick. Not the most glamorous job, but he felt good when he helped save someone, and he was fine with being in the background while everyone fawned over the _main_ hero.

 _The Scorpion_.

…

Scorpius has a crush on his sidekick, which is not how it's supposed to be _at all,_ but somehow it _is_ like that and he sort of hates it, but that's what his heart feels.

His heart's a mess.

Scorpius is a superhero, and he has a _really_ cute sidekick—he has to make a conscious effort to not stare at his sidekick, Asp, when they go out. It's Asp's fault, really; he wears a _really_ tight bodysuit, all black with lines of green that complemented his eyes.

They spend a _lot_ of time together, and Scorpius is almost _certain_ that his feelings are reciprocated, which is why he's shocked when Asp rejects him.

…

Hyperion liking him might be the funniest things that Albus has ever heard of. Why would _he_ like Albus? Albus was just a sidekick.

So he laughs. He actually laughs, right in is face.

It's not like dating Hyperion would be _bad_ , it's just that Albus doesn't really know who Hyperion is in real life. Also, he's been holding out for Scorpius for a _long_ time, and he's not ready to let that go.

…

 _(of course, if he knew the truth, he'd be in his arms in a second.)_

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet-cutes, day 6_

 _serpent day [cali-king, superhero!au]_

 _insane house comp [15. albus severus]_


	7. the boy with the quote tattoo

_disclaimer, i've never gotten a tattoo aha_

 _for amber, via one shot exchange_

 _prompts at the bottom_

 _952 words, by google docs_

* * *

" _How much_?"

"One hundred dollars per hour, the first hundred paid in advance," Scorpius repeats with a sigh, looking Albus up and down.

"Great." Albus taps his foot on the floor, feeling anxious. He didn't mean to do this, really. He was drunk, can you blame him? "And you're depriving me of a refund?"

"No refunds," Scorpius confirms, looking bored. "But you don't _have_ to do it. You just won't get money back."

"I'm not going to just _waste_ that money!"

"So get a tattoo," Scorpius says, yawning—actually yawning, in Albus' time of distress.

"Don't they _hurt_?" Albus argues. Scorpius nods, rolling his eyes. "I can't get one!"

"Well, then run, run away as fast as you can, and we'll just keep your hundred dollars. Thanks for the service!" Scorpius gives Albus a smile and returns to his Big And Scary machine, that Albus is pretty sure _drills into your skin and permanently marks it_.

"You sure it was me who came in here, anyway?" Albus asks. Again.

"Yup," Scorpius says, fiddling with ink bottles. "You came in, asked for a tattoo _today,_ paid me the hundred bucks, gave me your number, and threw up on my floor. You were quite elegant, really."

Albus can feel a blush spreading across his face. Was it his fault that he was drunk? Well, yes. But was it his fault that his drunken self ordered a tattoo and threw up? No, it was his drunken self's fault. Which means that he should be able to get his money back.

"Well, then I guess I need a miracle," Albus says, clasping his hands together, "I'm going to get a tattoo."

"You seem scared," Scorpius notes. "Do you want me to hold your hand and get someone else to do it?"

"Can you?" Albus asks, feeling really scared. He doesn't even know what tattoo he's going to get. "Can you help me?"

Scorpius sighs and looks at Albus like he's utterly insane, but he still gets up and goes into a back room.

"Rose!" he says. A girl with messy red hair and lots of tattoos comes out.

"Yeah, Scorp?" she says, after giving Albus a quick look.

"Tattoo," he says, pointing a single finger gun at Albus. Rose nods and points to the big leather chair.

"Take a seat. What tattoo do you want?"

Albus hesitates as he sits down. "I don't know," he admits.

"You got a favorite quote?" Rose asks grabbing a piece of paper as she sits on the stool next to the chair.

"Er—'What you loved as a child you will love forever'," Albus replies. He _does_ love that quote, from one of his favorite books.

Rose scribbles on the paper for a moment, before showing it to Albus. On the sheet is his quote, in cursive.

"Want that?" she asks, pulling on rubber gloves as if he's already said yes.

"Sure," he agrees. He then looks at Scorpius and smiles, holding out his hand. Scorpius rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time, but still takes Albus' hand. Rose shoves up Albus' sleeve and he flinches before she even does anything.

"Oh, calm down you baby," Scorpius says, _once again_ rolling his eyes.

"Baby? You don't even have any tattoos!" Albus argues, eyeing what he can see of Scorpius' body. It does look completely clean.

"Not that you can see," he says with a wink. Albus isn't sure how to take that, but he grips Scorpius' hand tighter. "Talk about something you love," Scorpius suggest, squeezing Albus' hand a bit.

"Well, I love books. I'm an author, really," Albus says, trying to ignore the poking occuring on his bicep.

"Favorite book?"

"It's a kid's book, I know, but I _love_ Percy Jackson."

"Ah." Scorpius—wait for it—rolls his eyes. "Saw the movie. It was awful."

" _Never_ judge a book by its movie!" Albus says, appalled. "Percy Jackson is one of the best series _ever_."

"I'm sure. What do you write?"

"Fantasy things, mostly. World building."

"Wizards?" Scorpius asks with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Wizards with wands and secret magical schools," Albus says smiling.

"See?" Scorpius says, giving him a smile for the first time. "You don't even realise the pain."

"Yeah," Albus agrees. "I've fallen under your spell. I'm utterly hypnotised."

"Good. You're done."

Albus looks over and sees that Rose has put down the needle and is putting plastic wrap on Albus' arm.

"Oh," Albus says, amazed at the amount of time it took.

"Yeah, it was short," Rose agrees, grinning. She holds up a mirror so that Albus can see what the tattoo looks like. It's redder than he expected. "You happy with it?"

"Yeah, I guess," Albus says, looking at the cursive under the plastic wrap. He realises that he's still holding Scorpius' hand, but he doesn't want to let it go. It's nice to hold it.

Scorpius clears his throat and lets go of Albus' hand, though, after a moment of them standing there in silence.

"Well, it's official. You have a tattoo. You look fetching. I have your number, also, so I'll call you if we need to follow up on it," Scorpius tells him, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You have follow ups with tattoos?" Albus asks. He's never heard of needing a follow up. What would that even entail?

"Yeah, if we need to see the customer again," Scorpius says smiling at him.

"He's flirting with you, dude," Rose says getting up and going back into the back room. Scorpius blushes, down to his neck.

" _Hey_."

Albus laughs and gets up. "I guess I'll see you at that follow up, then," he says, giving him a wink.

Scorpius smiles.

And, of course, rolls his eyes.

* * *

 _for:_

 _gobstones [grey - alscor; "i need a miracle"; deprive]_

 _library lovers [fangirl - slash pairing; writer; something coming to an end]_

 _writing club [disney - the sultan - hypnotised/short/happy; showtime - as long as you're mine - "i've fallen under your spell"; buttons - "can you help me?", offical; lyrics alley - but i don't want to let it go; restriction - no hogwarts houses; jenny's jovial questions - "never judge a book by its movie"]_

 _serpent day [hundred pacer - "run, run, as fast as you can…"]_

 _insane house comp [fetching]_

 _monthly one shot exchange [amber - alscor, fluff, elegant]_

 _scavenger hunt [other house member's otp]_

 _amortentia [peppermint]_


	8. vacancy

_i apologize_

 _prompts at bottom_

 _629 words, by google docs_

* * *

Things Scorpius remembers:

1\. Rain. There was lots of rain. Pouring down over his windshield, his windows, his mirror.

2\. The need to get to work. He was already late enough, held up at home, and the rain wasn't helping him get there any faster.

3\. The other car. It came out of nowhere, really, but he remembers it appearing, a flash of red in the dark night.

4\. Darkness. It was dark outside, already, but this was pure darkness, like 'we're in the middle of the woods with no flashlight and we can't even see the stars because the trees are so tightly interwoven' dark.

…

Things Scorpius doesn't remember:

1\. Dying.

…

It's a weird sensation. He knows that there's rain still pouring down, but it's not hitting him. He can't feel it all it. It is hitting his _body_ , though. Just not him. Because he's not in his body, he's out of it, looking at his dead body.

There's so much _blood_. Scorpius feels like he's about to throw up. It's ridiculous, really—he's a doctor and _still_ gets sick at the sight of blood.

Also, he can't throw up.

Because he's dead.

"You sure now?" he asks the man besides him for the hundredth time. The reaper, Scorpius reminds himself. He was a _reaper_ , to bring him to hell. Or heaven, depending.

The reaper nods, rolling his eyes.

"That," he says, pointing to Scorpius' body, "is your dead body. You're dead. Come with me."

"Or not," Scorpius says. "We could just leave this all behind, get some coffee together, have a happy ending where you don't have to let me die and I don't have to be dead."

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" the reaper asks, a look of amusement on his face. "Because it won't work."

Rats. All of Scorpius' _good_ plans include flirting his way out of dying—he's _always_ able to flirt his way out of situations.

"Then I'll just go get coffee by myself," he says, starting to walk away. "I don't want to _die_."

Scorpius walks a few yard, then risks a look behind him. The reaper is still there, in all his reaper glory.

"Are you following me?" Scorpius asks, tired. He just _really_ doesn't want to die.

"That's my job. And you could want to be alive, but you need to face the facts. You're dead. You can't be alive."

 _Wow, this reaper is really all sunshines and puppies_ , Scorpius thinks.

"Besides," the reaper continues, "dying is easy. What's your problem?" There's a shift in the reaper's tone. It's softer, as if he actually cared about Scorpius.

"I'm a little bit scared," Scorpius admits, looking down. He feels weak, admitting this to a _reaper_. "I'm not ready to die. Why'd I have to die young?"

"If you think you have it tough, read history books," the reaper counters.

"What?"

"Think about it. You're not the only one who died young. There are thousands of people over history who died before they were ten. Be thankful you lived at all." Another tone shift—the reaper sounds _bitter_ now, and Scorpius realises how lonely his job must be—people whining all the time about wanting to stay alive when the reaper himself has never been alive.

Scorpius actually feels bad for him, for this creature.

"Fine. I'll go," Scorpius says with a sigh.

"Wait, really?" the reaper says, looking at Scorpius with joy. "That makes my job so much easier, you taking the express route." The reaper looks up and spreads his arms, his hood falling back a little bit.

Scorpius can see his eyes for the first time—a brilliant emerald. He's trying to memorize them, but he can feel them leaving every time he looks away.

In fact, _everything_ is

slipping

away.

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 9 - dying and flirting with the reaper]_

 _gobstones [silver - scared, express, "are you following me?"]_

 _writing club [showtime - thank goodness - happy ending; days of the month - umbrella day - during a rainstorm; buttons - "think about it"; lyric alley - "i'm a little bit scared"; restriction of the month; liza's loves - dark n' stormy - a storm; jenny's jovial questions - "if you think you have it tough, read history books"]_


	9. counter all your quick remarks

_300 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus has already had a bad week. He's just _not_ in the mood for the amounts of people sitting around him—why is Starbucks so crowded on a Friday night? On Albus' usual nights, Thursdays, there's hardly any people.

He just wants coffee.

"Now, I know we're only supposed to have five minutes, but I think I might need at least ten with you."

Albus looks up with a glare at the person who has just slid into the seat across from him. He has white-blond hair, grey eyes, with rings of blue, and a big smile.

"What do you want?" Albus asks, trying not to lose his temper. He really doesn't have time for this random person hitting on him.

"You were sitting alone—I figured you were available," the person answers. "If someone's sitting here, I can sit somewhere else."

"No, no one's sitting there," Albus says truthfully. Still, just because there's no one sitting there doesn't mean that he's _single_. How rude.

"I'm Scorpius, by the way," the other guy says, still smiling, as if Albus' grumpiness filled him with delight.

"Albus," he says, looking down at his coffee. "No offence," he says, wanting to brood alone, "but I really don't really like being hit on by random strangers at the moment. I've have a bad week."

Scorpius' brows are furrowed when Albus looks up, and the smile is still there, but slightly smaller.

"Then why are you here on speed dating night?" Scorpius asks.

" _Speed dating night?_ " Albus repeats. It's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard of. "Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Without waiting for a response, Albus grabs his cup and gets up, heading for the door.

He really doesn't want to deal with that guy, no matter how cute he might've been.

 _Shit._

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 10]_

 _scavenger hunt [drabble of exactly 300 words using the prompts ring, "really? why didn't you tell me sooner?" and delight.]_


	10. faking

_meet-cutes, day 11_

 _313 words, by google docs_

* * *

"You're not Lily."

Yeah, Albus knows he's not Lily. He's been told by _several_ people that he's not Lily.

"Yeah, I'm her brother," he says, sliding into the passenger seat. "I was told you needed a hot date to your sister's wedding, so here I am."

"Okay," the driver—Scorpius—says, looking over Albus. "Let's go, then."

…

He requested a Lily, yet now he has an Albus. Scorpius swears, as soon as he's out of the car, he's going to kill Lily via text. Is this is friend's way of saying to _date someone and stop using her as a scapegoat for any family event?_

Because while his family _knows_ that he's bisexual, and they're fine with it, Scorpius just doesn't _want_ to date anyone; being free is so much more appealing to him.

Well, at least Lily's brother is good-looking.

…

Albus isn't sure what to say. He keeps on glancing over at Scorpius, whose knuckles are white on the steering wheel.

He doesn't even know why he let Lily convince him to go on this date with her friend. She claimed that he needed to go out and go on dates instead of staying home in his pajamas.

He likes his pajamas more than people he doesn't know.

Albus says nothing.

…

"So," Scorpius says, as they step out of the car, heading to the Church, "we're dating because anytime I go to a family event, they bug me about having a boyfriend or a girlfriend."

Scorpius brushes a hand through his hair as he looks at the Church. He's hoping that Albus is good at both getting a hint and picking up on what Scorpius is saying.

Lily is.

"Okay," Albus says, walking over to Scorpius. He looks perfectly calm as if his sister _always_ asked him to go on random dates. Albus takes Scorpius' arm and smiles. "We're dating, right?"


	11. smiles

_415 words_

* * *

This was a complete disaster. Albus never should've gone to London in the first place, and now that he was there, everything was a mess.

He stepped off the train to go to his class and his bag ripped, spilling the contents everywhere. He tried to sweep everything up quickly, not wanting anyone to see what he had in his bag. There were some _questionable_ items in there that Albus preferred no one saw.

"Oh, I'll help you," someone said, squatting down next to Albus. Albus cringed as he looked at the other person, a blond guy that Albus definitely recognized.

Great. It was just his luck. The one person that he _didn't_ want to see.

"No," Albus said, scooping up more things, "it's really okay; I've got it."

"No, I'll help," the blond said, continuing to pick up Albus' things. He grabbed a photograph, just as Albus spotted it.

"No!" he said, trying to make a dive for it, but the other man already picked it up and was looking at it, confused.

"This is me," he said, holding the picture up next to his face.

"Er—" Albus said intelligently. Yes, it _was_ a picture of him. Yes, the picture _did_ come from his backpack. "No," he said, finally, licking his lips nervously.

"Yes, it is. Why do you have a picture of me in your backpack? I don't even know you."

"I'm Albus," he responded, giving the other person a grin. "And you're Scorpius. It's sort of a long story, that picture, really."

Scorpius squinted at Albus and then looked at the watch on his wrist. "My next class isn't for another hour. Explain."

"We go to the same school," Albus started, grabbing the pile of stuff he had amassed and standing up, "and my cousin put that picture in my bag, a while ago."

"Why?" Scorpius asked, giving Albus a bewildered look.

"I—sort of, maybe—have a little crush on you that my cousin kept on teasing me about and then she put that in my bag 'just in case I was alone on a Friday night' and then I never took it out and—" Albus cut himself off as he saw the look on Scorpius' face, a mix between 'weirded out' and amusement.

"Interesting," Scorpius said, taking a pen out from his pocket. He scribbled on the back of the picture and then handed it back to Albus. Albus took it and saw a number scrawled on the back. "Call me, maybe."


	12. have we met?

_377 words, by google docs_

* * *

Scorpius doesn't like the dark, but there he is, hiding in some random person's shed. He's been in worst situations. Still, the darkness is almost suffocating and he actually hopes that someone finds him soon.

He lets out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding as the door slowly creaks open.

"Thank goodness," he mutters, before someone screams and something crashes and he ends up with a trowel at his neck.

"Who," says someone, breathing hard, "the hell are you?"

"Who are you?" Scorpius responds, trying to make his neck smaller. He has nowhere else to back up; he's right against the wall.

"I asked first," the person says with a snarl.

"Scorpius Malfoy. I come in peace."

"I'm Albus. This is _my_ shed. Why are you in here?"

"I was just playing hide and seek!"

Scorpius thinks that his answer surprises Albus so much that it makes him pulls away.

"What?" Albus says, drawing back. Scorpius takes a deep breath as he realises that there's no longer any trowel under his neck.

"I was in the park nearby, with my son. The kids convinced me to play hide and seek with them," Scorpius explains.

"Oh."

Then the shed is flooded with light and Scorpius can see Albus for the first time. He has messy black hair and glaring green eyes. His hand is on a chain that Scorpius didn't notice before. It wouldn't have mattered if he did; the light would have been too obvious.

"You want to come into the house? They'll never guess to look there."

Scorpius smiles and follows Albus out of the shed.

…

"So, you have a son?" Albus asks, pouring Scorpius a cup of lemonade.

"Yeah," he says, taking the glass. "I'm single though. My wife died last year."

Albus nods, looking over Scorpius intently. His green eyes don't look so glaring anymore.

"I also have a son. And I'm single. I adopted."

They're both quiet for a moment, before Albus says, "Hey, I know an _even_ better hiding place."

"Really?" Scorpius asks. "Please tell."

"Taco Bell? Tuesday at eight? Just the two of us?"

Scorpius snorts. "Taco Bell?"

"What can I say? I like the basics," Albus responds with a smile and a shrug. "So?"

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

 _meet cutes [day 13]_

 _forty days challenge [no canon locations]_

 _writing club [restriction of the month]_


	13. wonderstruck

_322 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus thinks he might be falling in love with Scorpius Malfoy. He can't help it, really—Scorpius is just too damn adorable.

They first met because Albus' mother _insisted_ he take up some hobby, so Albus signed up for crocheting at the local community center. Scorpius' the only person Albus' age in the class, so Albus sat down next to him the first class, and sits next to him every class, now.

He just loves Scorpius' wit.

He first started to fall in love with him during their first class, when he could hardly stop bouncing up and down, excited to start. He told Albus, then, that he absolutely _loved_ crocheting.

Albus suggested that maybe Scorpius could tutor him, in a lame way of flirting. Scorpius just winked and laughed.

Now, though, Albus really _does_ need tutoring; he has no idea how to crochet. Besides, it's a good excuse to spend more time outside of the class with Scorpius.

Albus suggests the idea to Scorpius, and Scorpius agrees right away, inviting Albus over. Albus happily goes to Scorpius' house after their class and Scorpius sits him down, starting to explain simple crochet techniques.

Albus knows he probably should be paying attention to what Scorpius is telling him, or at least look at his hands, where he's showing Albus how to make the knots, but he can't help to just stare at Scorpius' grey eyes instead, with the slight twinkle in them. Albus thinks that it's endearing how much Scorpius loves crocheting; he could talk about it for hours without anyone listening, proved by how much he's talking right now, even without Albus listening.

"God, I _love_ crocheting!" Scorpius exclaims, looking up at Albus, his eyes still having a mad twinkle in them as he clutches the yarn in his right hand.

"You know what I love?" Albus asks his, quirking an eyebrow.

"What?"

 _You_. "This."

Albus loves the smile that producing from Scorpius.

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 14]_

 _writing club [showtime - the wizard and i - quirk; restriction of the month]_

 _forty days challenge [no using 'said']_


	14. better together

_shit, idk what this is. i'm tired._

 _603 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus taps his foot anxiously as he waits for the tattooist to come out of the back room. He's not sure if he should be doing this in the first place, but he already paid. There's no backing out now.

He must've been waiting for at least half an hour before the tattooist—Sean—comes out with his previous customer. Albus _definitely_ blushes when he sees who it is; Scorpius Malfoy, a librarian. Albus spends a lot of time in the library, enough to get _all_ off the information he needs.

He takes a deep breath as he's called into the back.

Time to set his plan into motion.

…

An hour later, Albus has effectively covered up the mark on his right arm.

He knows that he probably shouldn't have done it, but if it lets him pay the rent another few months, he'd do it. The mark supposedly should point him to his soulmate, but Albus hasn't found his yet. It didn't matter if he covers it up anyway; he has his mark burned onto the back of his eyelids—a small scattering of stars. If he encounters someone with a matching tattoo, he'll know it's them.

Besides, he _has_ to have the same mark as his target, Lysander—Lily had made her instructions completely clear when she told him what to do, how to commit this act. To kill someone.

He has a job to do.

…

 _Incoming text: have you found him yet?_

Albus rolls his eyes at his phone. If Lily didn't text him all the time, maybe he'd be able to look for him better. Albus ignores the text and goes back to scanning the customers at Starbucks—he knows what he's looking for; tall, dirty blonde hair, grey eyes.

 _There_.

Albus spots his target in line to get coffee, and is about to go to him when someone bumps into him.

"Sorry," he mutters, looking up to find Scorpius standing there, staring at his arm.

"Nice soulmate mark," he notes, instead of any other greeting. Albus scans Scorpius' body until he sees it on Scorpius' neck—a birthmark that matches Albus' fake one. _This_ was Lysander's real soulmate?

"It's not real," Scorpius says, noticing where Albus is looking.

"Why would you get a fake soulmate mark?" he asks, ignoring the fact that _he_ got a fake soulmate mark.

"Long story."

"I'll tell you my reason if you tell me yours," Albus offers, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius.

"Yours isn't real?" he asks, furrowing his brows.

"Nope."

Scorpius licks his lips and looks around, perhaps to see if anyone was listening. He then takes Albus by the arm and pulls him into a corner.

"It may sound crazy," Scorpius starts, "but I need to kill someone with this soulmate mark."

Albus nearly laughs. Nearly. "I actually believe that," he says. "I need to kill him, too." Scorpius gives him a look of disbelief. "Lysander?" Albus asks. Scorpius nods, now looking amazed. "Let's do this together. It'd be easier," he suggests.

Scorpius considers this, then smiles.

"Okay."

…

They wash off the blood and then go to coffee together.

Albus raises his cup in a mock-toast.

"To a new friend?" he offers. Scorpius grins and raises his cup, as well.

"To a new friend," he confirms.

They clink their cups and then drink. They're silent for a bit, before Scorpius asks, "What's your mark?"

"What?" Albus asks.

"Your soulmate mark. You must have a real one, right?"

"Oh." Albus rolls his eyes. "It's a scattering of stars."

At these words, Scorpius faces does a series of emotions—surprise, scared, delighted.

"So is mine," he whispers.


	15. twinkling

_i don't know what this is, either_

 _501 words, by google docs_

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy is a nerd. Everybody knows this. He spends practically forty percent of his life at the library, which is why he _knows_ that this aisle wasn't here before.

Peeking down it, he doesn't see any other people browsing the aisles, but he does see books. He likes books.

"It's probably just new," he says aloud to himself, staring to walk down the aisle. None of the books there look new at all. There are books of all different sizes, but they all look centuries old, with most of their titles faded. The few titles Scorpius _can_ see look like they're in a different language.

"This is weird," he notes aloud. He knows that the smart thing to do is probably turn away, but he really wants to see these books. He walks over to a book with shining gold letters, saying something in a different language. He recognizes that it's Greek letters, but he has no idea what they say. "Well, the title is shiny," he says as he grabs the book.

As he touches the book, darkness engulfs him.

…

The first thing he notices is the blinding light. It takes Scorpius several moments to adjust to the light, and when he does, he still doesn't recognize where he is.

He's definitely not in the library anymore.

The next thing he notices is what he's laying on. It's like some sort of pillow, but it's soft. It's almost like a cloud, he realises, sitting up and looking around him. It's all around him, and, pressing his hand onto it, he realises that it _is_ cloud.

He stands up groggily and then turns around.

"Holy shit," he says, staring upwards. He's standing before a man who looks utterly _regal_ ; he's at least ten feet tall and sitting on a throne, a crown of leaves in his hair.

Scorpius _knows_ who that is—he's seen paintings of him: the Greek God, Albus. Holy _crap_.

"That was not quite the reaction I was expecting," Albus says, stepping down from his throne. He shrinks until he's no longer ten feet—he's Scorpius' size.

"Where am I?" Scorpius asks, something buzzing within him. He thinks he already knows the answer, but he thinks it also _can't_ be true.

"Olympus," Albus replies, his eyes glittering.

Oh. It _is_ true.

Every fiber of Scorpius is telling him that this is just in his head, yet…

"How?" he asks, taking another look around.

"I'm a God," Albus replies dryly. "I can do whatever I want."

"Why?" Scorpius asks. He then scolds himself internally; he shouldn't be asking a _God_ so many questions.

"I have some important tasks that need doing. I believe you can do them for me."

Albus puts an arm around Scorpius' shoulder, and it's warm, almost like he was a human, but Scorpius can feel the power buzzing underneath his skin.

"Me?" Apparently Scorpius is unable to form complete sentences. Albus gives him a wide smile, eyes still twinkling.

"Come. We have much to discuss."

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 16, option 1]_

 _lent challenge [501 words]_


	16. kept me up

_315 words, by google docs_

* * *

There was a lot of snow on the road. That's the only thing Albus really remembers. He doesn't really remember the other car slamming into him, or the glass of his window spraying everywhere, or the ambulance coming.

He can feel himself slip away as he tries to remember, but someone squeezes his hand and jolts him back awake. He doesn't want to stay awake anymore.

"Hey," the voice says, "stay with me."

Albus tries to focus on the voice—or, rather, the person the voice belongs to. It's a paramedic. The one who carried him into the back of the ambulance, he fuzzily recalls.

"Yeah," Albus whispers, trying to stay awake, but at the same time, the pull to just _sleep_ is so strong. His head is throbbing.

He instead tries to focus on the paramedic who's holding his hand. He has blond hair with a slight curl. Albus likes it. He almost laughs at the prospect of flirting with this cute paramedic, but he doesn't; it'd probably hurt to laugh.

"Tell me something. Talk," the paramedic encourages.

"Hi," Albus manages. "What's your name?" he asks.

"Scorpius," he replies, giving Albus a small smile.

"Too long," Albus mutters, his eyelids drooping.

"Friends can call me Scorp," he offers, giving Albus a grin. Albus notes that he has dimples—or maybe Albus is starting to hallucinate.

"I'm your friend?" Albus tries to ask, except his voice seems to cut off halfway, so he just manages 'I'm your'.

Scorpius laughs and gives Albus' hand another squeeze. The laugh seems to give Albus more energy—it pierces through him and hits him, hard.

"You'll be okay," Scorpius promises, giving another squeeze. Albus can hear his voice crack, slightly, and he thinks it's a little funny—why is his voice cracking?

In fact, Albus is sure he says something else, but his voice seems to not just be cracking but fading.

Going.


	17. who do you love?

_472 words, by google docs_

* * *

Scorpius' mother is dead.

She's been dead for a while, but is still cuts him like a knife every time he thinks of her. He doesn't have a mother anymore. He hates it.

It pains him inside, but he thinks that he's used up all of his tears—he no longer cries when he goes to visit. He visits nearly every day after class, but he never tells his father—his father would burst into tears at any mention of his mother.

He never tells his father, so he has no one to buy him any flowers when he goes. Which is why he takes flowers everyday from the backyard of a big white house a few blocks from the graveyard. They have a bunch of flowers, anyway, Scorpius continues to tell himself. They'll never notice a few flowers gone.

He tells himself the same thing today as he picks a purple flower—one of his mother's favorite colors.

"So, who's the girl?" The question makes Scorpius snap his head up and he's facing a boy around his age, maybe seventeen or eighteen. He has messy black hair and a smirk on his face. The question doesn't register in Scorpius' head at first. "I mean, of course it's old fashioned to give _flowers_ , but I sort of like it. This is my family's garden, by the way. I'm Albus I always see you come and steal flowers. I don't mind, though. Can I meet the girl?"

He says all of this very fast and Scorpius realises—he thinks that he's bringing his flowers to a girl who's alive.

He's wrong.

"Sure," Scorpius says, though, straightening up, clutching a few flowers. After all, he _is_ stealing this boy's—Albus—flowers. They walk another few blocks before Scorpius stops in front of the graveyard.

Standing there with this stranger, it hits Scorpius all over again—he can feel tears starting to well in his eyes.

"Here's where she—" Scorpius breath hitches as he searches for a better word to say. "—lives."

"Oh," Albus whispers.

Gritting his teeth, Scorpius walks in, ignoring Albus walking behind him. His feet find the grave subconsciously and he leans down and put the flowers on there, next to all the other ones. He has a pretty decent rainbow, now.

"Hi, Mum," he says, trying not to let the tears in his eyes fall—why is being here with Albus so hard?

"She was your mum?" Albus asks, his voice soft behind Scorpius. Scorpius nods, balling his fists. Albus walks in front of him and bends down at the headstone.

"I know I don't know your son," Albus says, bowing his head and speaking low enough that Scorpius has to strain his ears to hear him, "but I know that he must really love you—he's been stealing my flowers for weeks, now. You're pretty lucky."

Scorpius' tears fall.


	18. makes its way over to me

_thank you, vic and ck for betaing!_

 _prompts at the bottom_

 _466 words by google docs_

* * *

Albus has been standing in line for the past three hours—or, more realistically, fifteen minutes, but it doesn't matter. He just wants to go _home,_ and it's a huge relief when he finally gets to step up to the counter.

"I'd like to make a deposit," he says, handing over his most recent paychecks. The lady behind the counter—Luna, her tag says—takes it from him and he's about to give her his information when somebody screams.

"Everybody down!" somebody shouts. "This is a bank robbery!"

It takes Albus a few seconds for the words to register in his brain, but once they do, he slowly turns around. He's facing someone wearing a ski mask who's marching towards him. There's wisps of blond hair sticking out the bottom of the mask, and there's a fierce determination visible in the robber's grey eyes. There's also something familiar about them. Albus is about to bend on his knees when the person wraps an arm around his neck and forces him down.

He feels something metal pressed against his head.

Albus can hear the robber tell Luna, "Give me ten thousands pounds, _now,_ and he'll live."

Albus doesn't know what's happening, fearfully keeping his head pointed at the ground, but he doesn't die, so he supposes that Luna hands over the money.

The arm around Albus' neck lurches upwards, forcing Albus to stand up.

"Come with me," the masked figure growls, squeezing his arm even tighter around Albus. He's starting to lose his breath. Slowly, his eyelids grow heavier, until everything goes black.

…

Albus wakes up in an ordinary dining room. Scorpius Malfoy sits sipping a coffee and reading a newspaper. Except he hasn't seen Scorpius since they graduated Hogwarts.

"Scorp?" he asks quietly, rubbing his eyes. Maybe the bank was just a weird dream. He should probably leave as soon as possible to deposit his checks, then—the bank closes at three o'clock.

"Wow, Al," Scorpius says, giving Albus a winning grin. Albus hates that grin. "We've sure gone on very different paths since Hogwarts. You work at a Muggle place?" he asks.

"You rob banks? Albus counters, raising a single eyebrow.

"I probably make way more money than you," Scorpius says, raising his cup.

"True," Albus says. "So, why did you capture me?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Catch up," Scorpius says, before letting out a laugh at something in the news. His laugh hits and tickles Albus' ears. It's pleasant.

"And you needed to wear a mask and rob a bank to do it?"

Scorpius laughs, causing Albus to crack a smile. "Well, you know me," he says, waving a hand, "I'm super dramatic."

"That you are," Albus says, grinning widely. "So you wanted to catch up?" Scorpius nods, looking happy. "Maybe we can get coffee."

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 19 - you hold me hostage while robbing a bank]_

 _assignment 3 [herbology, task 1 - someone who wears a disguise]_


	19. there i was again tonight

_prompts at the bottom_

 _664 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus is beyond exhausted. He knows that he's supposed to be a good cousin and go to his cousin's wedding happily, but is driving halfway across the country really worth it for her? Albus lets out a yawn as he drives off of the highway—a sign said that there was an inn nearby, and Albus will do anything for a few hours of sleep. He might be late to the wedding if he stops, but he _needs_ his sleep.

Checking in at the front, Albus thanks every God he can think of—he came just in time to get their very last room. He makes his way to his room, still yawning, and he turns the key they gave him in the lock to room 314.

There's someone in the room, sitting at the table and reading a book..

"Oh, sorry," Albus sputters, waking up immediately. The other person, a guy, looks up at Albus with warm grey eyes and smiles warmly. "I must have the wrong room," he says, walking back out.

"No problem," the person says. Albus looks down at his key, where a small _314_ is inscribed. They must've given him the wrong key, he figures.

He sighs, wanting to collapse onto a bed so badly, and makes his way back to the front.

"I think you gave me the wrong key," he says, pushing the key they gave him over the counter. The lady behind the counters takes the key and looks at her computer.

"Albus Potter?" she asks.

"Yes," he says.

"This is your room, then." The lady pushes the key back to him and he grabs it back, confused. Maybe _he_ got the room number wrong. He walks back upstairs and double-checks the number before unlocking the door.

The same person is still there.

"You're back," the guy says, putting down his book and running a hand through his almost-white hair. "Can I help you?"

"This is my room," Albus says, holding up his key and walking over. The other person frowns.

"I got the same number," he says, picking up an identical key from the table. It, too, had _314_ etched into it. Albus groans. He just wants to sleep.

"Then I guess we're roommates," he says. "I just need to sleep, please."

The other person considers this for a moment before shrugging. "Hi, then, roommate. I'm Scorpius."

Albus flops down on the bed and manages to get out, "Albus," before falling fast asleep.

…

Albus wakes up next to Scorpius.

Wait, _what?_

"Aaaahhh," Albus says, hitting Scorpius out of instinct.

"Ow!" Scorpius says, rolling off the bed and hitting the floor with a thump. "I'm awake, I'm awake—oh." Scorpius straightens up and looks at Albus. "Sorry, I just couldn't fall asleep in the chair and there's only one bed," he explains, a blush spreading to his ears.

Albus feels slightly uncomfortable, but he has more pressing issues—like what time is it?

He voices his question and Scorpius reaches over to his phone.

"Eleven in the morning."

" _What_?"

Oh, Albus is going to die. He was supposed to be at the wedding by _ten_. He's going to be killed by everyone in his family at the same time.

He jumps up, scrambling around, trying to get his stuff together.

"What are you rushing off to?" Scorpius asks, amidst Albus' panic.

"My cousin's wedding. It started an _hour_ ago," he says, spreading his arms out. "I'm going to get killed by my mother. And my aunt. And my cousin."

"Or you could just _not go_ ," Scorpius suggests. He, for the first time since he fell, gets up and sits on the bed. "I don't really know you, and I usually go on a date _before_ sleeping in a bed with someone. We're overdue."

Albus can feel his face heat up as he realises what Scorpius is suggesting. He glances at his phone screen—eleven twenty. He was already going to be late. Better to just not go.

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 20]_

 _assignment 4 [muggle music, task 7 - racing against the clock - write about being late]_

 _through the universe [alscor]_


	20. wishing you were at my door

_prompts at the bottom_

 _disclaimer - i have never used this site *shrug*_

 _460 words, by google docs_

* * *

 **OkCupid**

 _Dating isn't what you skip to get to the good stuff. It is the good stuff._

You made a match!

 _ **Scorpius Malfoy - 23 - Bristol**_

 _hmu for a good time. i know i can deliver ;)_

Press **here** to start talking!

…

 _Scorpius Malfoy: heyyyyyyy babe. you look pretty hot in that pic. care to show me more? ;)_

 **Albus Potter: Oh, of course. Only if you send back, though.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: sorry, honey, i only deliver in real life. come over, than maybe we'll see where we get._

 **Albus Potter: *then**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: ...what?_

 **Albus Potter: Sorry, you just used the wrong word. You used 'than' instead of 'then'. It's wrong.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: mate, i don't really care._

 _Scorpius Malfoy: i don't even know what i'm doing on this site, to be honest_

 **Albus Potter: Using bad grammar, apparently.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: no i don't usually use bad grammar, i promise!_

 _Scorpius Malfoy: tbh i only came on here to troll the stupid idiots just looking for sex_

 **Albus Potter: Wait, really?**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: yeah, you'd be surprised how many just want a shag_

 _Scorpius Malfoy: not that i'm calling you an idiot or anything_

 **Albus Potter: No, I know I'm a genius.**

 **Albus Potter: I actually signed up for the same reason.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: wait really? god i guess there's just so many idiots that this site needs two of us_

 **Albus Potter: I guess so. :)**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: we should join forces to troll as many people possible_

 **Albus Potter: Yesssssss**

…

 **Albus Potter: Oooooh, matched with a blonde from Liverpool. Her shirt's half-off in her profile pic, so…**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: get her, love_

 **Albus Potter: Love?**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: i call everyone love, don't get a big head :p_

 **Albus Potter: Thanks. -_-**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: hey i was thinking_

 **Albus Potter: Must be hard to do that for the first time.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: there was another text coming after!_

 _Scorpius Malfoy: do you maybe want to meet up sometime?_

Albus Potter is typing…

 _Scorpius Malfoy: ...did i break you?_

Albus Potter is typing…

 _Scorpius Malfoy: i mean we don't half to but we don't live that far away from each other so i was thinking that maybe we could meet face to face?_

 **Albus Potter: *have. Not 'half'.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: see i knew you weren't dead!_

Albus Potter is typing…

 _Scorpius Malfoy: it's okay to say no, albus_

 **Albus Potter: No!**

 **Albus Potter: I mean, no, I don't want to say no.**

 **Albus Potter: I mean, yes.**

 **Albus Potter: I mean, yeah, I'd love to meet up with you.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: really?_

 **Albus Potter: Yeah.**

 _Scorpius Malfoy: then it's a date!_

 **Albus Potter: I guess we both got a date on this site, anyway then. :')**

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 21]_

 _insane house comp [plot point - using a dating site]_


	21. tired

_...only 6 more -_-_

 _522 words by google docs_

* * *

The person walking out of the office building surprises Scorpius. Her red hair is a mess, she's missing a shoe, her clothes are ripped, and she has a hissing cat under one arm.

"Are you going to apply for the assistant job?" she asks him, pointing towards the office building. From the horrified look on her face, Scorpius half-expects thunder and lightning to appear around the top. Nothing happens.

"Yes," he says, looking back at her warily.

"Run. Run far away," she warns. "Get away while you still can."

"Why?" Scorpius asks, squinting at her in confusion.

She takes a deep breath. "You don't want to know."

Scorpius stares at her as she runs away, stumbling from her lack of a foot. He then looks back at the office building. There's still no lightning, and Scorpius is still broke, so he walks in, despite the girl's warning.

"Hello?" a little old lady says at the front desk. Scorpius walks up to her and gives her a smile.

"I'm here for the assistant job for Mr Potter," he says, still smiling. First impressions are _everything_.

"Yes, one second." The lady picks up the landline besides her and dials a number. "Yes, hello? Mr Potter? Mr Potter, I have someone here for the assistant job. Yes. Yes, he is. Of course. Okay." She hangs up the phone, leaving Scorpius wondering what the other person was saying. "He wants you to go back to his office," she says, pointing to a door behind Scorpius.

"Thank you," Scorpius says, turning around and knocking on the door. He knows that he was told to go in, but he ought to knock, just in case.

"Enter," a voice says. Scorpius enters and can only see the back of a swivel chair. "Close the door behind you," the same voice says. Scorpius does, and the chair spins around, revealing a man about Scorpius' age, with messy black hair and startling green eyes.

"Hi, I'm Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius says, reaching into his bag to pull out his resume.

"That's great. You're hired."

Scorpius falters—he had prepared so much for a proper interview. He wasn't ready to just _be hired_. "What?"

"You're hired," he repeats. "I need a new assistant, and you're here. My last one didn't work out very well," he says, a dark flash going over his eyes.

"Great," Scorpius says, putting his resume away. "What should I do first?"

…

Scorpius is ready to fall apart by the time he stumbles home.

He hasn't even had a full day yet, and already Mr Potter has made him do so many tiring tasks—he had to run around the office three times, just so he'd 'be in proper shape'.

Scorpius has never worked in an office before, but maybe not all of them are like that. Maybe that girl was right—he should've gotten away while he still could.

Even with the weird tasks, like grooming and _counting the hairs of_ Mr Potter's pet cat, Scorpius is getting good pay. And Mr Potter isn't that _bad-looking_ , either.

Maybe Scorpius could get him to be friendlier and less harsh. That'd be nice…


	22. it's the end of the world as we know it

_hi i hate this site_

 _797 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus is _not_ having a good day, even before the aliens land.

He first got the news that his best friend—Scorpius—had his house attacked last week, but this morning his parents officially die, subject to the disease sweeping the nation, the disease that took Albus' family.

And then the doctors tell Albus that Scorpius is in a coma.

They don't know if he'll ever wake up.

They don't know any cure for the poison hitting everyone. They just know that it's not good.

Which, Albus thinks, does a _lot_ of good.

He's in the hospital waiting room when someone pulls the fire alarm. The hospital under threat of a fire is quite a sight to see—doctors running around with patients in wheelchairs, the invalids wobbling towards the door, nurses trying to calm everyone down. It's the most disorganised thing Albus has seen in a long time, yet it's simultaneously really organised—everyone seems to know where they're going.

Albus runs to find Scorpius, and finds him outside, still on his bed, his doctor by his side. There seems to be a lot of people like Scorpius around them, and Albus' heart pangs for them, but he only cares about Scorpius. He's the only family Albus has left.

"What's going on?" Albus asks the doctor as he approaches. He can't see any smoke coming up from the hospital building, but that doesn't necessarily mean there's no fire. Albus can't see _everything_.

"I don't know," the doctor, Teddy, says, looking around at all of the patients. He gives Albus a sharp look and then walks away, going to check on some other patients, and Albus almost wants to scream—what if something happens to Scorpius? He knows that Teddy has other patients, but still—Scorpius.

Albus stands closer to Scorpius' barely-breathing form as more people come out of the hospital.

And then a spaceship lands on top of the building and someone screams.

Albus recognises the shape from the space books he loved as a kid. It's a UFO, except Albus knows that, one, they don't actually exist, and, b, they aren't supposed to be close enough to identify them—'unidentifiable' is one of the words in 'UFO'.

Except here it is, right in front of Albus.

Maybe he's been hit with the disease and he's hallucinating. That's probably all that's happening.

…

Scorpius once fell out of a tree when he was younger and blacked out. When he woke up, he woke up to a stark _white_. There was brightness everywhere, almost flooding him.

That's the only time he's been in a hospital, but he's fairly certain they couldn't have changed that much, which is why he's confused when he wakes up to a dark room. He's pretty sure he should be in a hospital, but he's not exactly sure why.

He groans, his whole side hurting. He doesn't remember about anything that happened to him, but he has a strong sense of dread.

Immediately, he's tackled by someone and can't breathe very well.

"What?" he says, and he's surprised to see that his voice is only a little bit louder than a whisper.

"Scorpius, oh my God," the mass hugging him says.

"What?" Scorpius repeats. The mass gets up and Scorpius sees that it's Albus, his best friend.

"Something happened," Albus says, wringing his hands together. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Well, you should figure out how," Scorpius says, looking around. He realises, for the first time, that they're in a cave, which explains the darkness. He's also lying on a stretcher. "Why are we here?" he asks Albus. "Why am I on a stretcher?"

"Your parents are dead," Albus blurts out, immediately clasping his hands to his mouth, as if he didn't mean to say it.

"What?" Scorpius says. Apparently he can't say much more.

"It was on the news earlier," Albus says quietly, lowering his hands. "Aliens have taken over. They sent the disease to make taking over easier. You got a coma from it. Your parents died from it." Albus pauses and looks over Scorpius, concern on his face, but Scorpius doesn't know what to feel. "The aliens are horrifying, really. They've taken over everywhere. It's looks like the end of the world."

This hits Scorpius like a dull blow to his face. The end of the world? And Scorpius was in a coma for it?

"Where are we?" he asks.

"I found shelter in this cave, but we have no resources. I wasn't really planning on this. It's only a matter of time…" Albus trails off, but Scorpius knows what he means. _Before we die._

"What can we do?" he asks. He doesn't know what compels him to do it, but he reaches over and grabs Albus' hand. He needs the warmth.

"I don't know."

* * *

 _for:_

 _meet cutes [day 23, point one - you just woke up from a coma and i have to explain to you that aliens took over the world]_

 _assignment 3 [religious education, task 1 - write about aliens]_


	23. i was enchanted to meet you

_368, by google docs_

* * *

Albus' head is pounding. He feels like Death itself. He's half naked and he knows he should put a shirt on, but he's instead staring at his arm, where there's some strange writing. It takes him a second to clear his brain enough to decipher the sloppy scrawl: it's a number with the words 'call me' below it.

He groans and sits up, grabbing his phone from his nightstand. Not bothering to put on a shirt, he heads to his kitchen; he _needs_ coffee. Maybe it'll lessen his headache.

He puts water in the kettle and lazily lights his stovetop as his unlocks his phone and navigates to the call app. He taps in the number, double-checking his arm to make sure he gets it right.

It rings once.

Twice.

Three times.

Before the fourth ring, someone picks up.

"Hello?" someone says with a yawn. They sound as tired as Albus feels.

"Hi. This is Albus," he says. He doesn't know if the person would know his name, but the other person lets out a small 'oh'.

"It's you," they say, sounding more awake. "About last night—"

"What happened?" Albus asks, cutting them off. The last thing he remembers is going to the biggest house party of the year. He must've been drunk as _hell_.

"You don't remember?" they squeak.

"No. Who are you? I woke up with your number on my arm," Albus explains, moving while he talks; his water is boiled, so he pours some into a cup.

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy. You really don't remember?"

Albus sandwiches his phone between his shoulder and his ear as his spoons some coffee beans into the water. "'Fraid not."

"Oh." There's a silence as Albus stirs his coffee.

"What happened?" Albus repeats, unable to stand the deafening silence.

"We hooked up. I thought that maybe you wanted something more, but if you don't remember…"

Albus takes a long sip of his coffee, taking that in. "I mean, I'd love to meet you," he decides. "Sober this time, alright?"

"Sure!" Scorpius sounds perkier, now. "I'd really love that. You have my number."

Albus laughs. "I think I'll have it on my arm for the next week. Sharpie is a bitch."


	24. waiting on you

_thanks vic, i guess_

 _431 words, by google docs_

* * *

This is it. Scorpius could almost explode. He had gone to _several_ Panic! at the Disco shows before, but he's never gotten to meet _the_ Brendon Urie before. He is finally getting to meet the one, the only.

"First time?" someone asks from next to Scorpius in line. He turns to see someone with messy black hair, green eyes, and a big grin. Scorpius grins right on back.

"Yup! I wonder what he's like in real life," he ponders. He turns away for a second to try and see if he can see Brendon yet. He can't. He turns back to the person and smiles at him again. "I'm Scorpius," he says, holding out a hand.

"Albus," Albus says, grasping it and shaking. "I've never met him, either, but I hear he's really nice."

The line shuffles forward, Albus and Scorpius moving with it.

"Is this your first Panic! concert?" Scorpius asks. He pushes a hand through his hair, trying to peer past the mobs of people. There was still no Brendon in sight.

"Nope. My fourth, actually. You?" Albus also looks past the other people.

"Also my fourth!"

Scorpius gives Albus another grin as they continue to talk and the line continues to disperse. Finally, after what seems like _ages_ , the two of them reach the front.

Brendon Urie.

Scorpius feels like he's going to cry from joy. He looks better in real life than he does in camera, Scorpius realises. His forehead also looks bigger. He's never seen him so up close.

Pretty soon, he's being pushed right up next to him.

"Hi," Scorpius says, his heart beating fast. "I really love your music."

"Thanks," Brendon responds, grinning and dimples appearing. "Do you want to take a picture?"

Scorpius nods and pulls out his phone. He tries to click it on, but nothing comes up. The screen is just black.

"Um," Scorpius says, not sure what to do.

"I can take a picture, if you want?" Albus answers, still standing in line. Scorpius gives him a look of deep appreciation and nods.

Albus whips out his phone and takes a picture, smiling at them. When they're done, Scorpius leaves the area, but waits there for Albus to finish his own meeting.

Scorpius nearly pounces on Albus as he spots him leaving.

"Can I see my picture?" Scorpius asks, both of them walking away from the arena. Albus nods and pulls out his phone. Scorpius stares at it, noticing for the first time how his sweat made his hair matted down. "Ew," he says, staring at it, "I look terrible."


	25. please

_thanks, vic, for betaing half of it :p. Hoe. :3_

 _385 words, by google docs_

* * *

There it was. It was bigger than Albus' hand. He felt like there was a lump that size crawling up his throat. Backing away from the bathtub, Albus retreated from the bathroom and into his bedroom. He needed to pull out the big guns—Windex.

Gripping the bottle tightly, Albus returned to his bathroom and sprayed wildly at the… _thing_ in his tub. It did nothing and Albus had to force down a scream—and some throw up. It was frankly disgusting.

He backed out of the bathroom, still clutching the Windex like it could save his life. It very well could—the creature in his bathtub _could_ be venomous. Or poisonous. Albus didn't know the difference, but he knew that he'd die either way.

He was too young to die.

He took a deep breath and grabbed on his crumpled t-shirt from the ground, pulling it on. He supposed that his shower would have to wait—he had _way_ bigger problems to deal with.

Albus ventured out into his apartment building's hallway and nearly jumped on the first person he saw—Scorpius Malfoy, his neighbor from across the hall.

"Help," he said, trying to look at Scorpius desperately. Scorpius looks taken aback, which is understandable—the most Albus has said to him is two words.

"With what?" he asked, looking at Albus warily.

"There's a horrifying _thing_ in my bathtub," Albus squeaked. He felt slightly embarrassed, being so scared in front of this stranger, but he could help it; it _was_ terrifying!

"I'll see what I can do?" Scorpius offered. Albus nodded gratefully and led Scorpius to his bathroom.

Albus pointed one shaky finger towards the creature as Scorpius squinted in that direction. He then laughed.

Laughed. At Albus' pain.

"You mean that tiny spider?" Scorpius asked, still laughing.

Albus stared at Scorpius, offended.

"Tiny? It's _huge_ ," he claimed.

"No, it's not." Scorpius bended down and pulled off his shoe, flattening the spider with one _thwack_. He then let out another laugh before pulling a Sharpie out of his pocket and grabbing Albus' hand, writing a number there. "If you ever need me to kill more tiny spider," he said, giving Albus a smile, "give me a call."

He then picked up his shoe and left Albus' bathroom, leaving Albus standing there, watching where Scorpius was.

The gall of him.


	26. passing notes

_insane house comp - diary_

 _526 words, by google docs_

* * *

 _Dear Diary,_

 _God. GOD. GOD I LOVE THIS BOOK. Yes, I'm a huge fucking nerd. Deal with it. You're a book. You don't care. You don't have feelings._

 _BUT GOD I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I COULD SCREAM._

 _I mean, I am screaming. This book is MAKING ME SCREAM. AH. But I still love it, you feel?_

 _No, you don't feel. You are a book. As I've said._

 _But honestly, Made You Up is probably the best book I have ever read. EVER. Trust me on this._

 _I just love Alex. And Miles. And Charlie, even though—_

"What are you reading?"

Albus snaps shut the diary as Rose approaches. He tries not to let his disappointment show; he was really loving reading about this person's life and interests. It was slightly crazy how much they had in common.

Because the diary he's reading isn't his; he found it while walking around the train station one day. He _does_ mean to return it, but it isn't his fault he hasn't; there's no phone number or address, just a name—Scorpius. It's what's written on the front cover and how he signs each passage.

"Nothing," he tells her, shifting the diary out of her view.

"Really?" she asks, squinting at him. "You seemed pretty engrossed in 'nothing'," she notes. Albus can feel the blush spreading over his cheeks.

"It's _nothing_ ," he insists, getting up. "I need to go, anyway."

Rose bumps into him as he walks by her, giving him a wink. He just rolls his eyes.

…

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I was reading this history book today. I know, I'm a nerd, but I finished Made You Up, and my dad had it lying around. I think I have a new obsession with World War Two, honestly. I mean, you already know that I love history, but World War Two, man. It's just so interesting. And terrible, don't get me wrong!_

 _I love the Soviet Union in particular. I mean, I don't love them. But they're interesting, you know? I mean, I can't believe—_

Albus walks into someone at the train station, the diary flying out of his hand. He still has the words swimming in his head—Scorpius liked history, too? What a nerd. Albus found it adorable.

"Sorry," the man who he walked into says, leaning down to pick up the diary. Albus also stoops down.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking at where I was going," Albus says. He holds out his hand for the diary, but the other guy is staring at the cover.

"This is mine," he says, straightening up. "Why do you have my diary?"

Oh. Shit.

"I found it lying around," Albus says, truthfully. "It's not my fault you didn't add a number."

Scorpius— _the_ Scorpius, that Albus has read so much about—looks Albus up and down before pursing his lips and pulling out a pen from his pocket. He grabs Albus' hand a scribbles a number there.

"There," he says, letting go of it, "now you have my number. No more excuses to not call me."

Albus gives out a nervous chuckle, but nods. Guess he _has_ to call Scorpius.


	27. i wonder

_i. am. done. here it is: day 28. hallelujah._

 _397 words, by google docs_

* * *

Albus is done. Of course, he doesn't _actually_ believe there's a small FBI guy watching him through his webcam—that'd be completely ridiculous!—but he still wants to cover his laptop's webcam. Even if there's no FBI agent watching him, someone could still hack into laptop's webcam and spy on him.

But not the FBI. There's no agent in his laptop.

Still, Albus sticks a piece of duct tape over his webcam.

"Are you mad at me?"

The voice nearly causes Albus to have a heart attack. He thinks it's coming from his laptop.

"What?" he asks. He leans closer into his laptop, trying to see if something's there.

"Are you mad at me?" the voice repeats. It's definitely coming from Albus' laptop, but none of his tabs are playing any audio.

"Depends," Albus says, swallowing hard, "who are you?"

"Agent Malfoy, with the FBI."

Oh. Albus was wrong.

He feels faint.

"What?" Albus asks again. He tries to clear out his ear—maybe he misheard…?

"I'm the FBI guy in your webcam. It's boring work, really," the supposed 'Agent Malfoy' says.

"There's actually an FBI guy in my webcam?" Albus asks. He felt slightly rude—he just left a piece of tape on his webcam and now all the agent can see is a black screen. He rips it off.

"Yup. Just too make sure that you don't want to bomb the country. Not really to watch your porn with you."

A hot blush spreads over Albus' face. "You—"

"Yup," the agent confirms.

"Jesus."

"Yup. You can call me Scorpius, though. 'Agent Malfoy' was my father," he says with a chuckle. "I mean, my dad was never an agent, but I just—"

"You can see everything on my screen?" Albus asks, cutting Scorpius off. "And everything through my webcam?"

There's silence, and then Scorpius speaks again. "I just realised that I nodded and you can't see that. But yes. I can see everything."

Albus frowns. This doesn't make any sense. "But how many people work at the FBI?"

"That's private information."

"But how can you keep watch over _every single person_?" Albus asks. The numbers just don't add up. There has to be half the people employed in the FBI for people to be in other's webcams. And what if an FBI agent has their own laptop?

Albus can hear Scorpius hesitate. "I guess a lot of people have PC's."


End file.
